


miracles whisper.

by beemblebummed



Series: miracles whisper. [1]
Category: Shadow the Hedgehog (Video Game), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-09 11:59:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7801072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beemblebummed/pseuds/beemblebummed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>MIRACLES<br/>ˈmirək(ə)l/<br/>noun;<br/>a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.</p><p>WHISPER<br/>ˈ(h)wispər/</p><p>verb;<br/>speak very softly using one's breath without one's vocal cords, especially for the sake of privacy.<br/>-<br/>after the war against the Black Arms, Shadow has to adjust to his life as... a good guy? that's what they want him to be. as an agent of GUN, he tries to be such a thing, but you can't always take such big steps alone, or without miracles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. sardonic success

**Author's Note:**

> triggers / squicks !  
> \- mild swearing  
> \- mention of weapons, and use of guns  
> \- mention of kidnapping

It was only supposed to be a reconnaissance mission, get in, get the layout, and get back out. It had been going fine, and probably would have stayed fine if GUN’s “top soldiers” weren’t all trigger-happy morons. Shadow nearly yells this at the youth to his right, the two of them crouched down behind solid crates that were, so far, holding beneath the blast of bullets, but he decides to save his breath. After all, the kid isn’t the reason they’re being shot at and lost two men already.

 

But even if _this_ kid isn’t going to be getting an earful, _someone_ will be.

 

“How many are there?” Shadow asks, waiting to peer around the side of his crate until he has at least some details. “Did you count?”

 

“I haven’t been able to get a clear look,” the youth responds. “They’re evenly dividing their shots, though, because Marks and Walker over there are held down, too. They must’ve seen you and I dive for cover, because we haven’t even _shot_ yet! Marks got off at least four bullets, though, so—”

 

“You’re giving me a long-winded version of _I-Don’t-Know_ kid, and you need to stop,” the hedgehog interrupts harshly. “Just keep quiet and let me…..”

 

His words trail off and he waits. The kid listens well, because Shadow gets full silence from everything except the bullets piercing the other side of their defense system. He concentrates on the pattern, the sounds, the moments in-between until he has it— a delay every few seconds, calculated to the nearest form of perfection for their adversaries.

 

Bullets only last so long, but they aren’t all firing the same amount at once, so only some are reloading while the others fire. Shadow nods once he gets the pattern right and then turns to the GUN cadet.

 

“Radio Marks and Walker,” he says. “Tell them to open fire on the… _four_ people firing at them after every few seconds— tell them to listen for the drop in bullet fire, that’s two of them reloading. I’m sure they’ll pick up when you and I fire, but just to be on the _safe_ side.”

 

She looks at him for a moment, and then nods as well, muttering a quiet “why didn’t I think of that?” before doing as told. The cadet speaks into the device on her chest and gives the orders, looking back to Shadow afterwards.

 

“Same situation for our guys?” she asks, nodding her head in the direction of their attackers.

 

“Starting now,” he responds with another nod, his voice quiet. “We have to lean up and fire at them on my signal, get ready.”

 

“Got it,” the youth mumbles.

 

Shadow and the GUN cadet turn and lean up just enough to get their weapons up and let loose, causing disarray or the small group of four hidden behind lower standing objects. The two firing get down, and the two reloading stay down— Shadow’s even pretty sure they hit one of the shooters. He looks over after making such an observation, a brief look of approval on his face when he sees the other two GUN soldiers had their attackers pinned as well.

 

“All right, listen up!” Shadow barks, aiming a quick shot at the very edge of the barrier protecting his and the youth’s opponents. It’s close enough to the very edge that it drives a nice little hole through it, and he even hears a low gasp, maybe even a stifled exclamation of pain following it. “We have more soldiers in the surrounding area, they are not far off. If you think I’m _bluffing_ , I dare you to take a shot right now!”

 

Marks and Walker and Shadow’s cadet friend all stand now, their weapons aimed right at the tops of their enemies’ barriers, just _waiting_ for someone to take the hedgehog up on his offer. No one does.

 

“We want the hostages, and if you continue to resist, we’re going to kill more of you,” Shadow continues. Quickly, he leans over and asks in a low mutter what the names of the fallen GUN soldiers are, and once he gets an answer, he shoots right back in, barely skipping a beat, “I would be more than happy to send condolences to Kirby and Rusty’s families with a nice little ‘ _don’t worry, we killed more of them than they did us’_ attached to it!”

 

There’s a brief quiet and then a voice calls from across the area, “How do we know you government scum won’t kill us anyway! Once we hand over the goods, you have no use for us anymore!”

 

“Well, on many other occasions, you are correct,” Shadow responds, “we _wouldn’t_ need you, and most likely _would_ kill you. However, we need questions answered and at least some form of justice for all your acts so far... How does that sound?”

 

Another brief silence follows.

 

“…What are your terms?”

 

 

 

Shadow’s arms cross over his slender chest as he observes the moving of the hostages. There’s at least twelve of them, half G.U.N member relatives, and the other half random civilians. That’s the part he’s somewhat confused about— why would they go so far as to find out who their enemy’s family were, and then get random people as well anyway? It couldn’t have been random that they snatched several of the people related to G.U.N’s people, could it? As much as he wants to ignore it, he really can’t.

 

“Excuse me— Shadow?”

 

He doesn’t look towards the voice, though he acknowledges her with a nod. It’s the same cadet from earlier. Cassie Li is her name and she’s apparently some new recruit, recently out of training.

 

She moves to stand at his side, the both of them watching as the rescued victims are tended at the multiple ambulances called in. It’s not even been an hour since the enemy surrendered, which also added itself to the stack of suspicious things Shadow didn’t understand. They’re all either stupid and cowardly or planning something. And he doesn’t know which he hates more.

 

“Commander Tower called from HQ,” Li begins. “He said that you had a call from Sonic the Hedgehog, and that they need you for something important— he said that Sonic only said that you would know where.”

 

The hedgehog pauses here. “Cadet Li, what is the date?”

 

She seems a bit puzzled by the question, but she responds, “Six-nineteen, sir. I-is… something the matter?”

 

He’s quiet again, but then a loud groan leaves him, followed by a soft “ _damn_.” All he tells Li, however, is that it’s nothing. He can tell she wants to pry, but she doesn’t, and he rather appreciates that.

 

After wrapping up the surprisingly successful mission, Shadow clocks out, with permitted leave. It’s already evening as he’s skating down the sidewalk, dodging the random passerby and thinking about how the commander had been acting. He’s pretty sure Tower knows what’s going on, too, and it annoys him, even just considering Sonic let him in on the ‘special occasion’. That’s what it’s going to be referred to as.


	2. some assembly required

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> out and about, celebrating Shadow's 17th birthday, the team tries to have fun and do their best to make it a nice night to remember. he only half appreciates the effort, but that appreciation only decreases as the night DRAGS on, especially when everyone decides near collectively to not get along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> triggers / squicks !  
> \- moderate swearing  
> \- food / eating ( not gone into great detail )

Huffing, Shadow tries to just focus on getting to that newer building in downtown Westopolis, something nearly finished that had been started after the attack from the Black Arms the year before. It’s supposed to be some kind of government-funded thing to house anyone heavily affected from aforementioned invasion, children who lost family and have nowhere to go, people who lost their homes and belongings and such. They aren’t meant to pay them back in any way, so he’s heard.

 

As he pulls up to said building, a small crowd of a few people catches his attention. It’s definitely Sonic and his friend Tails, but it seems there’s at least three other people as well. He prepares himself for whatever may occur, and then flinches ever so slightly at his name being shouted by the blue hedgehog.

 

Before he can close the distance between himself and the other five people, Sonic has already dashed up to meet him. His green eyes are alight with excitement, nearly glowing as he steps over to Shadow’s left, setting a hand on his back.

 

“We have got a great schedule,” Sonic begins, allowing his hand to go down as Shadow reaches around to push it away. The blue hedgehog pays it no mind and continues, “We’re gonna go to a restaurant first— they have _fast food!_ Get it?— and then we’ve got a surprise afterwards, and then we’ll go back to my place and hang! Sound all right with you?”

 

By then, they’re both already back to the small group, and Shadow realizes it is Rouge, Knuckles and Amy that he couldn’t identify before. Rouge and Amy are out of their usual wear, the former dressed in a purple crop top with black pants, though her high top boots swallowed them. The latter of the two wears far darker clothes than she tends to normally, a black long-sleeve with dark jeans. Seeing how nice they look on them briefly gives him a sense of want for it, that nice style and appearance. A lack of sensory problems would make that a _lot_ easier, so all he can do is admire it.

 

He hadn’t noticed at first, but all of them were wearing some form of similar clothing— Tails carries a black bag that matches a black belt around his middle, Knuckles is actually wearing a pair of black pants and a gray tank top, and Sonic, Shadow notices after actually looking, has an oversized hoody with a bright red pawmark design on the chest.

 

His head tilts after taking in all of this, and then he scoffs.

 

“Are you all dressing in black to celebrate my birthday?” he demands, almost scornfully. He leans on a hip and crosses his arms, rather unimpressed.

 

It’s then that Rouge laughs, a rare sound, and gently wraps an arm around Amy’s shoulders. “Amy and I coordinated _our_ thing, and these losers either followed along, or this is some embarrassing accident.”

 

Amy snickers and leans into the bat lightly, nodding in agreement. “We’re the only _cool_ kids here, if that wasn’t already clear.”

 

At that moment, the boys excluding Shadow all look at each other and their jaws drop. Without meaning to, they all now tote some clothing or article either black or dark in color, by some stroke of luck— or lack thereof. You can almost smell the scent of teenage boy distress at this fact being realized and confronted, the overwhelming urge for one or all of them to say ‘ _one of us has to change_ ’ and it improves Shadow’s night just a bit.

 

Before any of the boys can say anything, Amy holds up a hand to draw attention to herself. “Listen, you all look great, and why pass up this _wonderful_ opportunity, am I right? Now we can look like a hip gang, venturing out into the night, becoming _men!_ ”

 

Tails blinks at her and asks, “What will you two be becoming?”

 

Rouge lowers her arm now to loop it around Amy’s, replying, “Actually, _we_ won’t be becoming anything— we’re not the idiots who dressed like each other on accident.”

 

Sonic visibly droops, grimacing before muttering something along the lines of “I knew I should have worn the green one” before huffing, and then breaking into some stretches for his legs to distract himself momentarily.

 

“Okay, so,” he says loudly, wanting to make sure everyone hears him, “since Shadow is the birthday boy, he gets to pick a fast food restaurant! Everyone’s got money, right?”

 

Everyone responds affirmatively, except Shadow, who looks at Sonic with a confused expression. Sonic looks over at about the same time the other does so, and then grins wide at him.

 

“ _You’re_ the birthday boy, Shads,” he says with a chuckle, “ _we_ pay for _you_!”

 

His look goes from confused to completely shocked— he continues to stare at the blue hedgehog with that wide-eyed, jaw-dropped face for a moment, his arms uncrossing and retaking position of hanging at his sides. It’s only a few seconds it stays that way, for he becomes completely aware how he looks and as a result, stands up straight, narrowing his eyes as he takes on an annoyed air.

 

“That is a stupid thing to do,” Shadow growls. “I didn’t agree to this, I don’t _want_ your money, that’s as stupid as doing anything for this occasion.”

 

Sonic just snorts and then shrugs. “Stupid’s always been a word to describe the stuff I do, and I’m all right with that.”

 

“That isn’t the _point_ ,” the Ultimate Life Form persists.

 

Rouge rolls her eyes and untangles her arm from Amy’s and then proceeds to approach Shadow alongside Sonic. It’s obvious she’s a bit annoyed, but she’s not angry. She gestures with a wide sweep of an arm to the surrounding area, looking right at the dark hedgehog as she does.

 

“Shadow, we have put together a nice night of fun or _something_ for you because we think you need to be a little more social with your _friends_ ,” she explains emphatically. “On top of that, we think you deserve a nice break from being the Ultimate Life Form, the stoic and scary G.U.N soldier! We _wanted_ to do this for you.”

 

He seems irritated still, but he just hisses and then nods. “ _Fine_.”

* * *

Half an hour later, they’re all seated on a little picnic table in a park just across from a McDerren’s restaurant, most of them already shooting into chitchat and talk of their days, and the like. And about the moment that starts, Shadow feels out of place, staring at his sandwich, half hoping it would come alive and start a terrible crisis that could be solved with violence and fighting.

 

A hand comes up tentatively to grab hold of it, but he really doesn’t feel like eating, he just hasn’t had much of an appetite today. He had been trying to _forget_ that today was bound to happen, that they would all somehow figure out his date of creation from so long ago. It overall made his stomach twist, thinking about it, but maybe part of him is just holding out for the sake of the others. They had probably been planning sometime, worrying over it and trying to figure out how to accommodate for the grouchy pissbaby that he tends to be. He doesn’t know why they _would_ , though.

 

Suddenly, there’s a gently placed elbow in his side, and he snaps to attention, startled by the touch. He finds a half confused, half amused look on Sonic’s face, his elbow having been the one prodding his side. Opening his mouth, he intends to fuss at the other hedgehog, but before he can, a small device is being ushered into his free hand. He doesn’t speak and just looks down at the dimly lit screen, finding the blue-bubbled text message that is just addressed to Sonic’s own number— but it’s for Shadow.

 

_‘is everything all right?’_ it asks.

 

Shadow immediately gives Sonic an annoyed look and pushes the device back towards him, turning and ignoring him for the moment. He grabs his soda and takes a small drink, focusing on Rouge, who sits across from him.

 

“How was the mission they sent you on today, Rouge?” he inquires, his voice mildly stiff, nearly enough so to elaborate in one sentence how uncomfortable he is. “Any luck locating your target?”

 

She sighs and takes a bite of her taco, shaking her head afterwards. “Couldn’t find her— she’s obviously very trained in avoidance and hiding. I was pulled out, but Topaz and another someone are going undercover to get deeper.”

 

“Ah,” he mumbles, still making it a point to not look in Sonic’s direction. “That’s unfortunate.”

 

“Yes, it rather is… but I heard you had more luck than I today,” she goes on, flashing a smile and tilting her head. “I hear you were part of the squadron that took down that recent rogue band of kidnappers— is that right?”

 

He pauses and takes another drink. “Indeed,” he replies. “It was mostly due to them being _cowards_. So I doubt it really counts as a success when they faced me with such weakness.”

 

At that time, Knuckles leans in over the table from Shadow’s right, a deep frown on his face as he says, “ _Okay_ , let’s drop the hardcore business talk and be teenagers for a night— like, can’t we have some fun for once?”

 

Rouge just keeps smiling. “For Shadow, not being a teenager and not having fun _is_ fun.”

 

_A teenager._

 

He repeats the words mentally once or twice and then swallows a snarl, downing the last of his soda before standing. “All right, I would like to return to the building, I’m going to get a refill. Does anyone need anything?”

 

Directly following what Shadow knows would be construed as a tense moment, no one wants to speak or break the silence first— as he had hoped, everyone is still quiet for that, and they say nothing to his inquiry. Before they can recover, he turns and he walks back for the McDerren’s just as he has intended.

 

There continues a quiet after he’s gone and definitely out of earshot, and then Knuckles looks to Rouge with a pretty aggravated expression.

 

“You just _had_ to, didn’t you?” he grumbles, balling the paper for his burger into a messy wad.

 


	3. the sincerest form of flattery is apologizing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> everyone's a bit tense now that Shadow has stormed off for a few minutes, but Amy rises to the occasion and tries to get everything back in order. though hesitant to even try to apologize to the black hedgehog for fear of making things worse, Amy manages to rally Knuckles and Rouge into trying anyway. how will it work out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> triggers / squicks warning !  
> \- mentions of food/drink  
> \- other than that and the friends being tense and fighting just a bit, there's nothing in this chapter i can find as triggers or squicks!

Tails nervously scoots a tad closer to the edge of his seat, looking worriedly at Sonic as Rouge and Knuckles proceed to have a solid _glaring_ contest. Rouge hasn’t said anything yet, but the fox already wishes he had gone with Shadow before this had started.

 

“Had to _what_ , Knuckles?” she says, blinking. “Joke around with him? Mm, yes, I’m so very terrible for doing that, and _you’re_ so very hypocritical, if I may add. He was finally talking and interacting with his friends, and then you went and shut him up. Do explain how it was my fault?”

 

This is where Amy stands up and lightly smacks the tabletop.

 

“Both of you, _please_ don’t do this,” she cries, her voice already shaking. She stares at Knuckles for a good while and then back to her partner. “I know I’m often the dummy, but one thing has been clear to me all evening— Shadow doesn’t _want_ to do this, he doesn’t like his birthday for some reason. And both of you arguing now? Isn’t that going to just make it worse?”

 

Knuckles opens his mouth to interject, but Amy continues before he can.

 

“He has been really stiff tonight, he hasn’t wanted to talk, and he finally did when he brought up his job!” She looks directly at Knuckles now. “You shouldn’t have cut him off, Knuckles, that was _your_ fault. We know he’s not a naturally talkative or social person— do we care? No, because like Rouge has been saying, we’re his friends, and we just want him to know that!”

 

Tails and Sonic both just watch the pink hedgehog, the two of them nervous, but only Tails’ showing so obviously. Momentarily, for her silence, they look to each other, both looking for help in this both awkward and nerve wracking situation.

 

“But Rouge, by saying what you did, you were making his differences and the things he probably views as _flaws_ so obvious in a joking way,” the girl tells the bat. “If it’s not been obvious enough, he sees himself as the outcast here. Yes, we’re all outcasts in our own way, but I think he probably sees himself in the very lowest light as far as his placement here goes. Ask yourself: when looking at this group, we have all of us who are extremely sociable, and well-received by the public in general.

 

“Look at Shadow. To some people, he may not even be real, alive,” Amy states flatly. “He doesn’t feel like he belongs, and putting a magnifying glass over the things that make that true isn’t going to help him.”

 

Slowly, both Knuckles and Rouge lower their heads as Amy fades out into quiet. She stands where she is for a moment and then lowers herself back into her seat, taking a deep breath before looking towards the McDerren’s building, still not seeing Shadow’s figure walking back out yet. She just shakes her head and sighs.

 

“I know we all have our own problems,” she mumbles softly, “but even in our problems, we have to remember other people have them too, and other people have feelings. We aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be sensitive to others.”

 

After she stays silent, Sonic stands up and grabs his tray and empty cup, nodding.

 

“Thank you, Amy,” he says. “And hey— you’re not a dummy. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

 

She looks up, her eyes wide in surprise, but she soon just offers him a smile and a nod in return. He’s glad to see it, giving her a quick wink before looking to Tails. He doesn’t even need to ask; the boy stands up and grabs his own trash, hurrying around the table to start walking after Shadow with his friend. As they walk off, Amy leans over onto Rouge, nuzzling against her shoulder.

 

“I know you didn’t mean to upset him, either of you,” the girl says, “but I’ve just… been thinking about him a lot. And it really stinks to see him like this.”

 

Rouge leans back into her friend, huffing. “Yeah,” she replies, glancing up at Knuckles. “I know you have, baby. You were trying to figure out what he would want for today three months before it happened. I think it’s pretty clear he’s been a thing on your mind as of late.”

 

Knuckles silently goes about gathering up the trash lying on the table as they sit together, remaining in his seat and simply reaching across the surface to pile it all together on one neat stack. He casts a glance up at the ladies and then shakes his head.

 

“Should we apologize to Shadow when he comes back?” he asks, keeping his voice very low.

 

Rouge hesitates but then nods, as does Amy. “He kind of… stormed off. I doubt he’ll very much care outwardly, but he deserves an apology, whether he accepts it or not.”

 

The echidna groans softly. “I’m not good with sayin’ sorry. This isn’t gonna go well.”

 

“You’ll be fine, knucklehead,” Rouge replies with a small chuckle. “We’re on the same page, but confidence is what you lack here.”

 

He gives a snort. “I’ll say.”

* * *

He hasn’t even refilled his drink yet, standing right in front of the machine, only moving to dodge out of other customers’ ways. He’s started ignoring the comments heard behind him, mostly by small humans, saying things like ‘mommy, why is that kitty getting soda?’, ‘is that cat okay?’ and ‘how is that puppy standing up?’ Shadow finds himself wishing it is either _cat or dog_ , though, and argues inwardly that he looks more like a cat that anything. Humans are simply stupid.

 

Honestly, he just wants a reason to still stand there, just a bit longer, to procrastinate on having to go back outside with the others. He’s actually half tempted to walk out through the back door and go back home to his little apartment, safe and quiet, where he can just go to bed and forget today. Everything has been so _off_ and he can’t stand it. Sonic wants him to talk, but he doesn’t want to— he can just ignore it, and it’ll go away. After all, people say _time_ heals things, so if he has anything to heal, it will be just fine after a while.

 

“Hey.”

 

The hedgehog grumbles in response and doesn’t look over towards the source of the voice, reaching up to fill his cup now, apparently trying his hardest to prove just how strong his resolve is to ignore Sonic. Of course, it won’t last forever, but he can pretend.

 

“Rouge ‘n Knuckles are sorry for what they said, y’know,” Sonic says, getting up beside Shadow to refill his own cup. “They wanna apologize, but they’re waiting on you to walk back out there.”

 

More silence as Shadow re-fastens the lid on his cup, adjusting the straw idly.

 

“Amy talked to ‘em,” he continues. “She’s been worried about you lately, she said so. She’s saying there’s something about your birthday that rubs your quills the wrong way. Do you… wanna talk about that? If there is something wrong, I mean?”

 

“There is nothing wrong,” he replies flatly, grabbing the soda in his hand and turning to head for the door. Sonic walks after him and Tails falls in beside him once they get through the exit, and then they all three walk back towards the table where everyone still sits.

 

Sonic whispers something to Tails, though what it is gets past Shadow, and then hurries to fall in step at his left. He casts him a single glance, brief, somewhat annoyed, and then focuses ahead once more.

 

“I think you’re lying,” Sonic states.

 

“Enlighten me as to why I should _care_ ,” Shadow snaps, his quills beginning to stick up more.


	4. the extra mile is too far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> confronting Shadow, really confronting him, seemed like a good idea. Sonic worries about him, he wants him to open up— so why does it go so BADLY? the night of fun turns into a night of regret for most of the people involved. maybe Sonic shouldn't have tried this at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> triggers / squicks warnings  
> \- light swearing  
> \- mentions of food / drink

Here, the blue hedgehog bounds forward and gets in front of Shadow, whipping around to face him as he crosses his arms. Leaning on a hip, Sonic taps his foot, eyes narrowed at his friend.

 

“Do you want the long version or the short version, because the long one will take far more time to say than the distance from here to the table,” Sonic says, his tone as flat as Shadow’s. “I mean, you could just tell me why you don’t _trust_ me enough to talk about it, or let me know why you keep bottling everything up and pretending you’re _fine_.”

 

By now, Tails has already walked past them, and is half way back to the table. He doesn’t look over his shoulder, so Shadow assumes Sonic had asked for some privacy. Interesting enough, but Shadow isn’t biting— the only thing he’s about to bite is Sonic’s face.

 

Red eyes stare dangerously into emerald greens, and Shadow’s grip on his cup tightens considerably, not even realizing he could bust it any moment. “You never change, Sonic the Hedgehog,” is all he says in reply, his voice low, maybe even soft. But it’s gone in a moment and in that moment, his teeth are bared and he snarls, “Everything has to be about _you_.”

 

“No, it’s not about me, and that’s what I’m trying to say!” Sonic cries, arms dropping. “I just want you to let people in, I want you to let _someone_ in! You never talk about things— you bottle it up, you don’t tell anyone what’s wrong, you don’t look for help when you need it, when you deserve it! It’s not fair, Shadow!”

 

“I don’t NEED help!” he yells, closing the distance between himself and the other. His face is inches from Sonic and he continues, “I don’t _need_ help, I don’t need to _let_ anyone in! I have been fine, I will always be fine, and that won’t change! Stop acting like you can walk in and be my _hero_! Yes, indeed, I know that’s what you are. You’re world-renowned, the humans love you, your friends adore you, you inspire people, and you’re their hero. But you are _not mine_.”

 

This seems to take Sonic by surprise. He tries to speak, but he just can’t, and Shadow shoves past him before he recovers. All he can do is stand there, process what was just said, and try to figure out… what to do next.

 

When Shadow sits back down at the table, he looks at Rouge first, and then at Knuckles. He’s waiting, but they say nothing for enough time that he gets impatient, and sighs, shaking his head.

 

“He _told_ me you both wanted to apologize, so let’s hear it if you are,” he mutters, ignoring the drink he had just gotten to just play with a peeling splinter from the tabletop.

 

At this time, Tails looks past Shadow, focusing worriedly on Sonic’s figure, which still stands away from them all, stationary where he had been to stop and speak. His worry increases the longer it goes on, but no one seems to notice yet. Knuckles and Rouge look to each other, and then to the black hedgehog, both of them now searching for the proper words to deliver their apology, and no amount of rehearsing beforehand had helped, apparently. Amy stays focused on the two of them, giving her girlfriend a light squeeze on the arm beneath the tabletop for silent encouragement, waiting for something.

 

“I spoke out of turn, shuttin’ you two up,” Knuckles speaks. “You had been… real quiet tonight, dunno why really, but it was wrong of me to make you hush the second you started interactin’. I’m sorry, Shadow.”

 

Rouge nods, appreciating her partner’s support in silence. “I joked about something that obviously upsets you. I’m also sorry— and if you would like to talk to us about it, about _anything_ , we’re all here for you. You deserve to be who you are, and do your own thing.”

 

Slowly, Shadow starts nodding too, plucking the splinter from the wood. “You are both forgiven.”

 

After he says that, the table goes silent again, and then Tails clears his throat quietly, nervous enough to bring the attention to himself, especially for what he wants to say. They look over at him and then he slowly points in Sonic’s direction.

 

“Um…?” is what he manages to get out.

 

Shadow just studies the fox for a minute, not realizing how much doing so starts to unnerve the boy, and then rolls his eyes, reaching up to rub his face.

 

“I assume he is still _standing_ there, then,” he mutters. “I believe I hurt his feelings. It serves him right, though; he would not shut up about things he does not understand.”

 

Tails’ fur puffs out and small fangs are visible past his somewhat curled back lips, his pair of tails behind him beginning to flick in agitation. “He was trying to _help_ you.”

 

“I told him and I will tell you, I don’t _need_ help,” Shadow responds.

 

“You’re just a sour jerk, Shadow!” Tails cries, standing up suddenly. “Sonic went to all the trouble of putting this night together for you, he’s been thinking about this for the last week, and all you can do is scream at him and treat him badly!”

 

“Tails—”

 

“He just wants you to be _happy_ , Shadow!” the youngling continues, his voice slowly cracking. “He just wants you to see yourself how he sees you! He wants you to smile, to be happy, to feel at home with him, with US! He cares so much about you, Shadow, and all you do is treat him like this!”

 

Shadow abruptly stands up, wordlessly getting over the picnic table seat and turning, walking away. Tails breaths in to continue again, expecting some kind of fight, some kind of response, verbal or physical, but he gets nothing. Shadow just walks away. Rouge quickly stands up after the hedgehog, intent on going after him, but Amy grabs hold of her hand and keeps her rooted as the hedgehog begins to skate down the road until he’s just gone. Sonic hadn’t moved; he had stayed in his place as Shadow faded out of sight, and now he more or less drags himself back to the table, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Um… I don’t think I ever shoulda planned this,” he says quietly. “It… was a long shot at best. I’m sorry to get everyone out tonight, to have you guys use your money for… this mess.”

 

“Sonic, it’s not your fault,” Tails pipes up immediately, hurrying around to the side of the table with his friend. “You were just trying to help.”

 

“Yeah, and I made things worse.”

 

Rouge looks at Amy, who has nothing to say now, no more ideas to help. Part of the bat had hoped for the opposite, but she doesn’t let it show, turning her attention back to Sonic almost immediately. “Hon, what did you say? Let’s start with that, so we can get everyone on the same page.”

 

Hesitantly, Sonic complies, his voice low, the presence of shame and maybe even embarrassment obvious in both body language and tone. Once everything has been recounted, what prompted Sonic to talk to Shadow, the things Shadow had said and the things Sonic had said, everyone takes a moment to think over it. They build their own opinions and construct the words they intend to speak in response to this new information, no one wanting to say the right thing wrong, or reflect their views in bad ways.

 

Tails’ opinion rings the same— he still thinks Shadow had been out of line, and being the youngest and the way that everyone present knows he is, they don’t want to speak against that. To him, Sonic can do no wrong, and no one wants to be the first to tell Tails he’s wrong about that.

 

“You guys both fucked up,” Knuckles finally says, breaking the silence at last. “Yeah, he should talk and open up more, mostly for his own good, but sometimes ya gotta give people their own time to do that, and you pushed too hard.”

 

Before Tails can speak, Amy builds upon Knuckles’ words, “I think you’re right for the _most_ part, but you guys need to understand: not everyone heals by talking about things. Not everyone feels better once they tell someone everything that’s happened, or let people in. For some, they’re conditioned to think they just _can’t_ do that anymore safely, so they don’t. Maybe they move past that, and find they can trust people and that trusting them with their hurt helps, but not everyone is like that.”

 

“She’s right,” Rouge agrees.

 

Tails seems confused beyond belief, now clinging to Sonic’s arm. “Guys, he— he didn’t _mean_ to make Shadow mad, he wasn’t doing that on purpose!”

 

“But Tails, he still did it, regardless of whether or not he meant to,” the bat says with a shake of her head, meeting Sonic’s gaze. “No, you didn’t mean to push him like that, but you still did, and that’s still on you for doing it.”

 

A nod is what the hedgehog answers with. “Listen, I’ll talk to Shadow,” he mumbles. “Just— don’t fight you guys, everything’s gonna be fine.”

 

The fox utters a small whine, looking up at his friend, still not sure what to think. Sonic offers him a smile and then reaches over to lightly rough up his ears and the fur atop his head, comforting him with a quiet, “Nobody’s perfect, bud, and that’s part of life. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

 

The smaller boy just frowns and huffs. “Okay, Sonic….”


End file.
